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'Incredible Himalayas' to ensure tourist visits round the year

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Press Trust of India Kolkata
Last Updated : Jan 05 2016 | 6:57 PM IST
Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) is working with Union Tourism Ministry to promote 'Incredible Himalayas' to ensure round-the-year tourism in the country.
IATO is working with the Union Tourism Ministry on this campaign which will help tourists footfall throughout the year and not just the peak season, Subhash Goyal, president of Indian Association of Tour Operators said today.
Rs 3.5 crore to Rs 4 crore have been earmarked for this campaign, he said at an Indian Chamber of Commerce conference on tourism.
"A map will be released soon which will have all important destinations in the Himalayas for trekking and adventure routes, northeastern states, valley of flowers and others," Goyal said.
A 20-30 per cent growth in the number of tourist arrivals is expected in 2016. Roughly 7.8 million foreign tourists visit India each year of which 25 per cent go to the mountains, he said.
"Countries in southeast Asia and Middle East do not have mountains. For them Himalayas is very attractive," he said.

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On the impact of the unrest in Jammu and Kashmir on the
tourism sector, Sharma said in spite of the problems in the Valley, India has witnessed growth in the tourist flow.
"Kashmir is an important part of India. There have been problems due to militancy..., but most of the people want peace there. Tourism projects worth Rs 500 crore have been approved for Kashmir. In spite of problems there, India has witnessed a growth in tourist flow," he said.
On the delay in announcing Tourism Policy, Sharma said it is "almost ready" and the ministry wanted to unveil to after the announcement of the Aviation Policy.
Tourism Secretary Vinod Zutshi said the summit is a "platform" for both domestic and international investors to meet project owners from across the states and Union territories and private sector.
There will be participation from major stakeholders, including states and UTs with their ready to invest projects, banks and financial institutions, cruise liners, entertainment companies, helicopter services, hoteliers, restauranteurs, and spa and yoga centres among others, he said.
To make the summit a success, the Tourism Ministry had organised road shows in countries such as the US, the UAE, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
Joint Secretary, Tourism, Suman Billa said this is the best time to invest in tourism sector in India with increased ease of doing business, creation of new infrastructure, opening up of the economy and paradigm shift of government from "being a regulator to partner".
Billa said the CII and Tourism Finance Corporation of India Ltd are principal partners for the summit which has four knowledge partners, namely Ernst and Young, KPMG, Yes Bank and Invest India to assist states and UTs for identifying projects that have investment potential.

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First Published: Jan 05 2016 | 6:57 PM IST

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